


During Dusk

by LivingInBibliomania



Series: WIPs [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: (Just a little bit), Challenge Response, Crossover, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mystery, POV Annabeth Chase, Paranormal, Percy being kind of weird, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, also percabeth angst, and Annabeth being kind of crazy, i'm so freaking confused what the eff is going on, lukabeth but only for like two seconds, percabeth fluff, vampires that aren't all gay(okay maybe like 2 of them are but whatever)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28222083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivingInBibliomania/pseuds/LivingInBibliomania
Summary: Annabeth Chase wasn't sure what to expect when she moved from sunny Arizona to rainy Washington. Then she met Percy Jackson, a mysterious teen with soulful eyes. Percy is a vampire whose family doesn't drink blood. Annabeth, unafraid and curious, enters into a dangerous romance with her immortal soulmate. As they embark on their treacherous journey, they learn just how dangerous falling truly is.in which Percy is a vampire and Annabeth needs therapy. *please see a/n*
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Luke Castellan/Original Female Character(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf, Thalia Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Series: WIPs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099991
Comments: 9
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for Camp Jupiter's Chic Fic challenge but grew into something more. Check it out if you'd like. https://www.fanfiction.net/forum/Camp-Jupiter/226445/  
> I am just so proud of this so no flames people. Please don't ruin this for me. If you don't like it, tell me what I can do to improve it. Feedback like that is appreciated.  
> Also, I just want to let you all know that everything isn't canon. This might be very AU actually. It was difficult combining Percy Jackson and Twilight characters seeing as they are all very developed but I managed. With a few problems of course. I had to combine a bunch of characters and it was super duper hard. If I got something wrong, you have my deepest and most sincere apologies.  
> Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer and Rick Riordan are brilliant. I'm not. Therefore I cannot possibly be them. It's common sense.  
> Notes: Annabeth Chase(Bella Swan),Percy Jackson (Edward Cullen), Athena(Chief Swan), Nico di Angelo(Jasper), Jason Grace(Emmett), Will Solace(Alice), Piper McLean(Rosalie), Thalia(Angela), Rachel Elizabeth Dare(Jessica) and Luke(Mike). Reyna (Lauren)  
> happy reading.

I sighed and turned to look at my father as he slightly twisted the steering wheel. Looking back outside the window, I pursed my lips and rolled the windows down.

It wasn't actually that hot. No, it was the perfect weather Phoenix, the sky a pretty blue with no clouds blocking my sight.

I fidgeted with my favorite t-shirt, a grey one with a pale gold owl. I was wearing it as a way of saying goodbye; a way of saying goodbye to all the familiar and favorite things in my life.

I sighed again which brought myself to the attention of my father.  
"Beth," my father started again. I know he was feeling guilty that I was leaving- feeling like it was his fault which it kind of was in a way but I didn't tell him I thought so. I didn't want to add myself to his long list of things to worry about.

"You don't have to leave. I could convince Helen that-"

"I want to go," I cut him off and lied, giving him a small smile.

He pursed his lips but nodded and went back to giving his full attention to the road.

In truth, I was only going because Helen wanted me to. She considered me as a mistake and hated me seeing me as I was the product of her husband and another woman who was not her. Honestly, I wasn't all that sure I could blame her. It was a natural response, really. She wanted to send me off to my mother in Forks but father kept protesting to keep me here in Phoenix with him and the twins. That's probably the only reason I don't live with my mother.

The one thing that I miss other than Phoenix itself were the twins; Bobby and Mathew. They were such curious minds which is often what got them into trouble most of the time. I wouldn't trade the world for these little angels. They were young enough to not understand why their mommy didn't like their big sister and didn't judge me. People judged me a lot at school so it was nice to be near people who don't do that. Of course I wouldn't have that anymore in Forks...

I didn't want to go to Forks, not really. It was a dreary place hiding in a corner of Washington. It was always raining and had a gloomy sort of aura. I'd miss Phoenix with all of it's bright sunshine and blue skies and familiarity. Staring out the window, I tried to memorize what it looked like seeing as it was probably the last I'd see of it. I dreaded going to Forks with all of it's rain clouds and depressing atmosphere.

My father and I got out of the car and walked inside the airport. I studied my father as he talked to the airport service workers. He had blonde hair like me but his eyes were blue instead of my unnatural grey. I got my eyes from my mother; grey like storm clouds. My mother left my father leaving nothing but a note and me. Sometimes I think that he still misses her. Maybe that's why he avoids looking me in the eye.

My dad turned around to look at me. He was still avoiding my eyes. He's been doing that forever but it snapped inside me for some reason. It was probably because I was leaving so that he wouldn't have to worry about me. The least he could do was look me in the eye.

"Dad," I snapped. His eyes snapped up to meet mine for about 3 seconds before he looked away. I sighed mentally. That was probably the best I'd get out of him.

"Tell Athena I said hello."

I nodded. "I will."

He hesitated. "Annabeth, honey... just remember that you have a home back in Phoenix. Okay?"

Suddenly, I felt a lump in my throat and I swallowed. It was all too much and I rushed forward and pulled him into a hug, ignoring the prickling under my eyelids. "I know, Dad. I'll miss you."  
He returned the embrace. "I'll miss you too, honey."

He let go of me and I watched as he waved until he couldn't see me anymore.

I pulled out my favorite book, a book about a boy named Peter Johnson and his best friend Annabelle Case, and kept myself busy during the 4 hour plane ride to Forks. I lost myself as I entered the world of Greek mythology.

~*~*~4 Hours Later~*~*~

The flight attendant informed me that the plane had landed and I swallowed my sense of dread and nodded at her.  
Stuffing my books unceremoniously into my carry on backpack, I exited the plane.

I spotted Mother immediately. She was leaning against her car awkwardly while waiting for me to get off the plane. Once she spotted me she gave me a small wave and greeted me.

"Hello Annabeth. I haven't seen you in a while. How's Frederick?"

"Dad's fine. It's nice to see you again, Mother." I smiled at her and hiked my backpack higher up.

That was really all that I was carrying. I didn't have much belongings; a few clothes, CDs, and posters but most of it was books. Mother placed it all into the trunk of her car and opened the door for me.

The drive to my mother's house was silent. That was good because I didn't know what to talk about anyway. What do you even say to a parent you only see once a year?

Mother exhaled and parked the car onto the street next to the house.

As I got out of the car, she said," So, Annabeth... I got you something."

I perked up. "Really? There was no need to, Mother."

She smiled at me awkwardly. "I know but I wanted to, as a homecoming present."

"Oh, um- thank you." At least now I know where I got my people skills from.

"It's a car."

My jaw dropped. "Mother- a car! Really, you shouldn't have! I was planning on buying one by myself and-"  
She cut me off with a smile, a genuine smile this time. "It was the least I could do for you."

She gestured to the driveway where it was sitting and I felt an unexpected surge of contentment. It was bulky and broad and absolutely nothing like the newest car models that everybody else was gushing over. It was an older model and looked like one of those cars which are practically indestructible.

"So- do you like it?" Mother was looking at me hopefully.

"I absolutely love it. Thank you so, so much Mother!"

She gave me another smile and started heading up the driveway. I followed her up and gawked at the car as we walked past it. At least my first day of school tomorrow would be less terrible seeing as I didn't have to walk seven miles to get to school.

She opened the door and as we walked in, told me to go settle in upstairs in the bedroom which had been reserved as mine for my entire life.

I entered the west bedroom which had a view of the backyard. It was almost exactly how I left it; a poster or two on the light blue walls, the white lace curtains pushed apart so that I could see out the window, a small purple stain on the carpet floor near my desk from when I had spilled grape juice. The only change really, was a computer and a phone jack on the desk so that I could contact father and maybe the twins every once in a while.

I set down my backpack and pulled out all my books and set them on my small bookshelf. I looked over all of them and rearranged them. Then I rearranged them again. I don't why I was doing so. I guess I just didn't want to 'settle in'. That would mean that this is actually happening and once I settled in there would be no going back. I pursed my lips and pulled out a photograph of father, the twins and Helen. Surprisingly, I wasn't in the photo. She didn't like it when we were all in photographs like we were all family. I know that she doesn't consider me as family.

I walked over to the desk and dropped the photograph into the garbage next to the desk. No going back now.

\--

I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. Gray eyes, blonde hair and no smile. I should probably work on that. They'd expect me to be one of those cheerleaders girls because of my hair. People always assumed that I'm dumb because I'm blonde. I really, really hate stereotypes. I plastered a big smile on my face but removed it quickly when I saw how fake it looked. Hopefully no one would notice that at school.

Tying my hair out of my face and into an elastic, I examined myself. I've never really made an effort to look nice but this was a new school and I wanted to try to make friends here; this was a new start.

Feeling spontaneous for a second I grabbed a tube of lip gloss out of a drawer, swiping it across my lips. It felt icky and I pursed my lips and sighed. I didn't know how to apply make up at all and the lip gloss looked messily done. Wiping off the gloss on my sleeve, I headed out of the bathroom and downstairs towards the kitchen.

Mother was downstairs, frying bacon. She lifted the pan and dropped the bacon onto a flowery plate. "Hello Annabeth. Did you sleep well?" She looked up and asked me.

I nodded stiffly. The truth is, I had slept terribly. The rain kept coming down heavily on the window making irritating noises and... I'm used to falling asleep to the sounds of Dad's snoring and the twins giggling. Without it, falling asleep felt wrong and was much more difficult. Breaking out of a habit was always hard.  
\--  
Breakfast with Mother was a quiet event. We both ate quietly and minded our own businesses. "Uh- good luck at school today, Anna."

My mother hadn't called me Anna since I was 5 and so I smiled at her efforts and picked up my books. "Thank you, Mother."

Mother smoothed down her pencil skirt and walked out. She left before me seeing as her job was an important one and she was required to be there early. Mother was a detective; the only detective in the small town of Forks.

I didn't want to be at school early and yet I couldn't stand to stay in the house a moment longer by myself. Walking over to the coat rack, I picked up my gray jacket and pulled it on.

As I rushed out the door, I grabbed the keys sitting on the kitchen counter. I opened the door and hesitated before straightening up and walking out. Practically running to my car, I jumped inside. It was drizzling slightly; not enough to get me soaked but enough for my hair to frizz more than usual.

I breathed out in relief when my rusty old car started up immediately. Loudly, albeit but immediately. The inside was much nicer than the outside with it's clean seats and it smelled like someone had just recently cleaned it; a scent of fresh pines.

As I drove to the school, I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, humming along to the songs playing on the crusty old radio. I didn't expect it to work but I could do with a pleasant surprise.

When I reached the school, I frowned. It didn't look much like a school- more like a cluster of houses really. The only hint that it was indeed a school, was the big sign up front declaring it to be so and the parking lot filled with a variety of cars- obviously the cars of fellow students.

I parked in front of the first building which had a sign hanging from it that said that it was the main office. The building had a few potted plants out front and I frowned at them. I opened the door and when I walked inside, I was hit with the scent of vanilla. The room was brightly lit and looked cozy despite being an office.

Inside, there was a woman with auburn hair wearing a purple t-shirt clicking away at a computer.

The woman looked up at me and tilted her head. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'm Annabeth Chase and I'm new?" I saw recognition light in her eyes when I spoke my name; everyone knew who Detective Athena Jean Olympian was and so it wasn't surprising that everyone knew who I was too.

She smiled at me welcomingly. "Of course dear." She opened up a drawer at her desk and pulled out a few papers. "I have your schedule and a map of the school right here."  
She beckoned me over and highlighted the best routes to each class, slips for each teacher to sign and told me to bring it back at the end of the day. I nodded at her and smiled when she told me that she hoped that I would like Forks.

I walked out of the building and noticed that a few more cars were starting to park into the lot. Most of them were older like mine and I was relieved to see it but there were a few nicer more newer models too. The best one was a flashy Volvo and it stood out as a few students admired it a little.

As I walked by clusters of students I kept my face buried in my hood and noticed with relief that my dark gray jacket didn't stand out.  
I pulled my car door open and sat down on the seat as I attempted to memorize the map. It just wouldn't do to have my face buried in a piece of paper the whole day.  
I parked to the side of a building labeled '3'. I checked to see if I had all of my books and stuffed the papers into my bag unceremoniously. I sucked in a deep breath and exited the safety of my car. 'It'll be fine', I lied to myself.

I followed two others wearing raincoats into the building and found my classroom.

The classroom was much smaller than the ones at my old school and I followed the example of other students as they hung up their raincoats on hooks on the wall facing the windows.

I took the slip up to the teacher and watched as he gawked at me once he saw and recognized my name. If that was the reaction of the teacher, I didn't have high hopes for normal reactions from my classmates. As he continued staring at me, I flushed red and held out the slip. Luckily, he sent me to an empty desk at the back of class and didn't make me introduce myself. At least now no one could stare at me during class without doing a 360.

I studied the reading list the teacher gave me with an internal sigh. It was stuff that I had already covered which was comforting in a way. It was also boring. I guess I wouldn't be learning anything new. It's a good thing I had brought all of my coursework and essays from my old school. This way I wouldn't have to do double work. Although it was kind of upsetting that I wouldn't be learning anything new; I loved learning as much as I hated school.

As I quietly did my work and scribbled answers on the paper, I felt a few stares burning into me. I thought that they wouldn't be able to stare at me when I was in the back, so how they managed to do so was a mystery to me.  
The bell rang, and I noticed thankfully that it was a quiet sound. At my old school, the bell was obnoxiously loud so that students could hear it over their equally loud chatter.  
I got up, and an oily boy with skin problems leaned across the aisle to talk to me.

"You're Annabeth Chase, aren't you?" Of course I could tell that he already knew the answer but I could also tell that he was one of those overly helpful, chess club vice president types.  
I smiled at him uncomfortably and nodded. A few people were sneaking looks at us, obviously eavesdropping on our conversation.

"You're a quiet one aren't you? Anyway, what's your next class?"

It's a good thing that I had spent a few minutes memorizing my schedule. "Um- Government with Jefferson, in building six."

"Oh! That's lucky. I'm headed to building four. I could show you the way?" Yep. Definitely one of those over helpful ones. "I'm Eric, by the way," he added.

"Thanks." I stood slightly away from him. People in general made me uncomfortable. Overly helpful people... I shuddered mentally.

We grabbed our jackets and shrugged them on, heading into the rain. I felt a few stares heat up the back of my neck and hoped that I was just getting paranoid and that there really weren't people eavesdropping on our conversation.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

"Very."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Three or four times a year."

"Wow. What must that be like?" he wondered.

"Sunny," I told him. If he was bothered by my curt answers, he didn't show it.

"I can tell. You're very tan." I flushed at this. He was staring at my skin? 'Creep...'

We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door even though it was clearly marked. I stamped down on my sparks of irritation at this.

"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some classes together." He sounded hopeful.

I nodded at him vaguely and walked inside.  
I could already tell the rest of the day was going to pass in the same fashion. The Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner was the only one who made me stand in the front of the class and introduce myself. I spoke quietly and he kept telling me to repeat myself. I stammered, blushed and walked stiffly on the way to my seat. I sulked silently for the rest of the class.

After a few classes I started to recognize a few faces and names from when the teachers called attendance. There was almost always someone who was more courageous than the others and braved the terrible, gory task of talking to me. They walked me to my classes and mostly just asked me how I liked Forks and the usual pleasantries. I responded by lying a lot. Usually, I don't like lying but I didn't want to come off as mean or rude.

The same girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish. I thought it was an accident until she invited me to sit with her at lunch and I smiled at her gratefully. I had thought I was going to be sitting by myself, reading like I had done in my old school. Not that I thought there was anything wrong with that, I just wanted to make a few more friends than I did at my old school.

The girl opened the door to the cafeteria and I followed in behind her. She was much shorter than me at 5' 4". I was taller than a lot of girls here actually. Of course, that was to be expected seeing as I was 5 8''. Like a lot of other things, my height is something I got from my mother.

I couldn't remember the girl's name but I knew that I would be able to remember her by her hair. It was a bright red, like a fire truck engine except way prettier. Unlike mine, her curls were beautiful. I was insanely jealous. When I first saw her, I was reminded of Merida from 'Brave'. I used to love that movie when I was around 8. I would run around the house pretending to shoot arrows before my stepmother told me to stop because it wasn't ladylike. Then I was reminded of Merida all over again. As a child I related to her a lot. I liked her up until I was 12. By then I had realized that my stepmother was never going to like me so I gave up on the dream and I gave up on Merida.

She turned to look at me and her green eyes stood out against the black wood of the door. She grinned at me and walked in.

I looked down as we walked so as to not draw attention but that was a fail. This girl was really popular; as in like every single person in the known universe knew her name. Okay, maybe not every single person but it seemed like it.

Eric waved to us from over at his table and greeted us; Rachel. Rachel... That's a popular name. At least it was in Phoenix; I knew at least 3 Rachel's back home. Although that could be because of the population of the city. There were so many more people there. It was comforting in a way. Here, everyone knew everybody and if you made a misstep, everyone would probably remember. I pushed all of that out of my mind though. I still thought of Phoenix as home and thinking about it made me feel all nostalgic.

Rachel's creatively decorated shoes obscured my view of the floor as her friends waved us over. We sat at the end of the table as she introduced all of them. I actually did pay attention to a few of the names but I wouldn't be able to tell you which face they belonged to.

I tried to be polite but that was proving to be difficult seeing as they asked so many questions. Their curiosity was endless.

Then, it was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They sat in a corner of the cafeteria, tucked away from the rest of us but where we could still see them. From where I sat right now, they were as far away from me as possible.  
My breath caught in my throat as I gazed upon them. They were all so beautiful; like statues made of marble. The five of them sat together and were talking quietly. Each of their plates were untouched and they weren't staring at me like most of the other students.

None of these things were what caught my attention though. They all looked so different and yet so similar. Their were four boys all with different features. One of them had a blonde buzz cut and a small scar under his lip in the shape of a crescent. He was the largest out of them all and he was built with muscles. The only other blonde there also had had freckles you could spot from a mile away and an easy smile. Sitting close to him was a small boy with dark silky hair. I was instantly jealous; what I would give for straight hair like that. When I said this boy was small, he wasn't small like he was short. I meant that he was small like he was the smallest out of them all. The one and only girl there was beautiful. Actually, beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it. I swallowed down the insecurities that arose when I looked at her. She has a statuesque figure and choppy brown hair which looked like it had been cut with a safety scissor. If she was trying to play down her beauty, it wasn't working.

Despite all their differences, I could also see similarities. They were all pale; so pale and it contrasted so greatly with my tan skin. All of them had purple bruises underneath their eyes.

"Who are they?" I asked Rachel.

She looked up to see who I meant even though she probably already knew from my tone of voice. Suddenly one of them looked up and he looked at my neighbor and then his eyes flickered to mine. How had I not noticed him yet? Now that I looked at them all together, he stood out to me the most. He had messy black hair which looked like a raven black rooster had come and made a perch on his head. It was endearing in a way.

He looked away before I could and I dropped my eyes to the table.

Rachel giggled in embarrassment and looked at the table like I was doing.

"That's Perseus and Piper Jackson, and Nico and Jason Grace. The one on the end is Will Jackson. They all live together with Dr. Jackson and her husband." She said this all quietly.  
Perseus... Strange name; what mother would name her son after and ancient Greek hero?

I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy who was staring at his tray and smearing cream cheese on an unbitten bagel. His mouth moved very quickly and I probably wouldn't have thought much of it would've and that he was just sitting their quietly if the girl hadn't nodded.

I struggled to convey my next few thoughts out loud. "They are... very attractive."

"Right?!" Rachel agreed and looked towards them. She giggled again and turned back to me. "They all live together- Jason and Piper, and Will and Nico, I mean. They live together." Her voice held all the shock that she was obviously feeling, I thought critically. Though if I had to tell the truth that would have caused some stir back in Phoenix.

I studied them again. "Which ones are the Jacksons?" I asked. "They don't look like they're related..."

Rachel unwrapped her sandwich. "Oh, they're not. Dr. Jackson is really young, in her twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Grace's are related though. Like cousins or something. They're all foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

Rachel nodded. "They are now. Jason and Nico are both eighteen but they've been with Dr. Jackson since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

I tilted my head. "That's really nice of her to take care of all those kids and everything, when they were young I mean."

Rachel sniffed. "I guess so," she admitted resentfully. I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at her adopted children, I think that the reason would be jealousy. "I think that she can't have any kids though," she added, as if that would reduce her kindness.

My eyes flickered back towards them. They all continued to talk in low tones and strangely, their food remained untouched.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. I didn't think so; surely I would've noticed them during one of my summers here.

"No. They moved from Alaska two years ago."

I felt a surge of pity and relief. Pity because they were outsiders and clearly not accepted into the folds of society. Relief because I was not the only newcomer; certainly not the most interesting one.

I examined them in a new light now that I knew their backstories. Suddenly the one with the messy black hair looked up and met my gaze with evident curiosity etched into his features. I looked away swiftly but it seemed to me that his glance held some sort of unmet expectation.

"Which is the one with the black hair?" I asked. I peeked at him through my peripheral vision to find him staring at me with a frustrated expression. He wasn't gawking at me like the other students though.

"That's Perseus. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are pretty enough for him." She huffed and I wondered when he'd turned her down.

I bit the corner of my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. Even though his face was turned away, it seemed as if his cheek was lifted. As if he was smiling too.  
I poked at my salad some more and drowned it in the ranch. I chewed thoughtfully and wiped away the ranch that remained on my face with a napkin.

After a few minutes, they all got up with their trays and walked gracefully in our direction. As they passed by our table, Perseus suddenly went stiff and sneered at me with narrowed eyes. I moved away a little in surprise and pushed down the hurt. He glared at me and I took the moment to study his eyes. They weren't what I was expecting that's for sure. I was expecting a pretty blue or green but was met with a coal black. It seemed... unnatural.

He walked past my table quickly and threw his food in the trash can. He muttered something furiously to the girl and stormed out.

I stared after him and wondered what I did to deserve such hatred.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story starts as Annabeth moves to Forks. She tries to fit in and make friends and gets a date with a boy Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase(Bella Swan), Percy Jackson (Edward Cullen), Athena(Chief Swan), Nico di Angelo(Jasper), Jason Grace(Emmett), Will Solace(Alice), Piper McLean(Rosalie), Thalia(Angela), Rachel Elizabeth Dare(Jessica) and Luke(Mike). Reyna (Lauren)

Thalia and I walked to Biology II together. She didn't talk too much, seemingly understanding that I didn't want to. I think that I like her the best so far.

Thalia smoothed down one of her spikes of hair and held the door open for me.

The first thing I registered when I walked inside was that it was way too bright. It felt like I was in a hospital with the room's way too white walls and bright lights. My cornea's burned a little and I averted my gaze to the teacher's desk. Thalia walked to her probably assigned seat and left me at the front of the room to fend for myself. Great.

I observed that all the black-topped lab tables already had two people sitting there except for the seat next Perseus Jackson. Oh yeah, did I mention that Perseus is in my class?

I sighed at the irony of it all and walked towards the teacher.

The teacher glared at me. "What do you want?"

I stared at him in surprise. "Um, hi? I'm a new student... Annabeth Chase?"

He sighed irritably. "Yes, yes. Whatever. Give me your slip."

I blinked at him. This was the teacher? "Ok?"

He signed it messily and I resisted the urge to poke his eye out with a pencil. "I'm Mr. D, your science teacher. If you have any questions, ask your classmates. Go sit next to Percival."

My left eye twitched and I took a breath. "Who's Percival?"

He glared at me again. "Didn't I tell you not to ask me questions Annabelle?" His hand jerked and knocked over a can of coke. It spilled onto his Hawaiian t-shirt which I knew wasn't regulation.

"It's Annabeth," I corrected smugly, smirking at the beverage. It's occasions like this that lead me to believe in Karma. I probably sounded a little too smug though by the stink eye that Mr. D was giving me.

Walking away from him, I approached a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, surfer guy looking type. He looked up at me and I had a sudden intake of breath when I spotted a jagged scar leading down the side of his face. It didn't make him look ugly. Actually, it added to his handsomeness. I blushed a little when he smiled at me.

"Hi. I'm Luke. You must be the new student. Annabelle right?"

"Annabeth," I corrected automatically.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, can I help you Annabeth?"

I smiled at him dreamily. "Um, yes actually. Do you know who Percival is?"

He frowned and shook his head. "Afraid not. Though that might be because there is no Percival in this class."

"Wait, what?" Luke set his pencil down and gave me his full attention.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to know?" I shrugged a little.

"Mr. D told me to go sit next to someone named Percival." The confusion cleared from his and he chuckled a little.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Mr. D always messes up our names."

I blinked at him. "Oh!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, he probably meant Perseus."

I felt a sense of dread creep up my back. "Oh."

Luke must have sensed a change in my demeanor for immediately his brow furrowed and he asked "What's wrong?"

I sighed a little and leaned in a little, whispering the last part. "It's nothing. I just don't think that he likes me very much."

Luke leaned in too. "And why's that?"

I sniffed indignantly. "He keeps glaring at me. No, don't look at him! Then he'll know we're talking about him!"

Luke flushed a little bit. "Whoops. Sorry."

I sighed again and smiled at Luke. I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted when Mr. D cleared his throat loudly.

"Ahem! If you two are done flirting, I'll begin the class." He looked at the two of us pointedly and we both blushed while moving away from the other.

I walked away and ignored a girl's giggle when I walked by her table and Perseus's glare and frigid vibe when I sat down next to him. The expression on his face scared me- it was hostile, furious- and so I leaned away from him and let a curtain of my hair block my view of him.

Of course, I got the seat next to the guy who probably wanted me to die or something. _Why couldn't I have gotten a seat near Luke_?, I thought miserably.

I peeked out through strands of my hair and noticed the color of his eyes. They certainly weren't what I was expecting. Although, I wasn't sure what to expect. Was I expecting like a bloody red or something? Or was I expecting a pretty blue or a regular green? Well either way, I was disappointed. His eyes were black, coal black. I found it fascinating in a morbid kind of way though I didn't know why it was morbid. It just felt that way.

He was leaning away from me and had an expression on his face like he'd smelled something pungent. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It just smelled like my favorite lemon shampoo; an innocent enough odor. Unless he was allergic?

I tried to distract myself from and pay attention to the video playing on the screen, but unfortunately it was on a subject I'd already covered. I took notes anyway, carefully looking at the screen and my papers to avoid his gaze. I couldn't help but peek at him every now and then. Not once did he relax and not once did his hands loosen from the table. He gripped it like it was his lifeline and gritted his teeth so hard, I couldn't help but think that he must be inhuman or a really high pain-tolerance to keep it up for that long. _Or he really, really, really doesn't like me._

"Class dismissed," the teacher called but I was too busy Not-Staring at Perseus to hear.

I jolted away when Perseus shot up from his seat and practically ran out the door. I sat on my seat and stared after him feeling a little hurt. I mean it wasn't that surprising, an attractive guy doesn't like me? Whoa. I just thought that this one would be different noticing his interest in me during lunch time. It must have been the regular new girl interest. Oh well.

"Class is dismissed, Annabelle. Why are you still here?" Mr. D snarled and I got up and walked out.

On my way to class, Luke caught up to me. "Hey Annabeth."

I sighed tiredly. "Hello again Luke."

Luke winced a little sympathetically seeing my expression. "You weren't kidding when you said Perseus didn't like you.

I pursed my lips. "Duh."

Luke ignored my retort and continued, "I don't get it."

"Get what?" Luke stopped and turned so that his whole body was facing me fully. "A nice, smart, pretty girl sits next to him and he completely ignores her. Like what?!" I

blushed and smiled at him. "Thanks Luke. I'm not sure about the nice and pretty though."

He stared at me. "You're kidding right Annabeth? You're probably the prettiest girl that I've ever seen."

He stepped closer to me. "I know that we literally just met. And..."

I stared at him and felt my heartrate pick up. "And?"

Luke bit his lip. "And I want to get to know you better. You seem like an awesome person and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date Friday? Feel free to say no. We did just meet after all."

I pursed my lip. He was right. I did just meet him but... he seems really nice. Trustworthy. And when would an opportunity like this come again? "That sounds great."

Luke beamed at me and stepped even closer. My palms were starting to feel a little clammy. "Awesome! So I'll see a pretty girl at 6 in Rosier's?" I giggled and nodded.

Luke leaned towards me when suddenly the secretary from the front office cleared her throat. I jumped and stared at her in surprise. When had she even gotten here? She crossed her arms over her purple shirt and raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Chase, it's good to see that you're fitting in so well."

I spluttered in panic when Luke smoothly cut in. "Oh yes, Mrs. Atrini. I've put upon myself to make sure Annabeth fits in _real well._ " I gaped at him and he winked at me. Mrs. Atrini shook her head with a small smile on her face.

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling ridiculously giddy. As I searched through my closet, I made an effort to pick clothes that looked a little nicer than usual.

Mother looked at me strangely as I hummed and poured myself a bowl of cereal. "Are you alright Annabeth?"

I looked up at my mother to find a somewhat concerned expression painting her features.

I smiled at her. "I'm fine, Mother."

She just nodded and went back to reading something in her notepad. Mother got up and walked towards the coat rack. She pulled on her coat. "Bye Annabeth. I'm heading for work."

"Bye Mother." I heard the door slam shut and placed my bowl in the sink.

My phone buzzed on the countertop and I reached over to pick it up. "Hello. This is Annabeth Chase speaking."

The voice coming from the speaker sounds tinny but it was one I could recognize in a heartbeat. "Hi Anna! How are you?" A smile grew on my face. "Silena! I'm great. How are you? And how did your date with Beckendorf go?"

I listened to the voice of my childhood best friend as I listened to her talk to me about how she was and how her date with her crush of 3 years went. Silena sighed. "And he took me stargazing Annabeth. It was so romantic."

I chuckled. "You sound smitten."

"That's how I was when I met you too, remember? I still am, of course. But only when you don't use words like _smitten_."

"Hey! Smitten is a perfectly normal word," I defended.

Silena said absently, "Whatever." "Oh yeah! I have something I need to tell you."

Silena gasped. "It's a boy; isn't it?"

I fought to keep the blush off my face. "Yes... How did you know?"

"I just could. Call it best friend intuition will you?"

"So? What's his name? What does he look like? He must be cute if he's caught your attention."

"Erm… His name is Luke. And- he's more handsome than cute. He's got blue eyes and blonde hair and a scar leading down the side of his face that makes him look pretty badass."

"You sound _so_ smitten."

We dissolved into giggles.

"And- you'll never believe it, Silena!"

Silena gasped again. "He asked you on a date! Annabeth, you lucky girl!"

There was a pause. "Annabeth? Was I wrong? Oh, I'm so sorry sweetie. If he doesn't see how great you are he doesn't deserve you!"

"No no! I just uh- how'd you know?"

"Like I said, best friends intuition."

"Okay...? Um yeah. I got to hang up now. School's starts in like 17 minutes."

"Wha- but Annabeth! I didn't even get the details of how he asked you!" Silena whined.

"Talk later," I reminded her and hung up.

The next day started off better... and worse. It started better because it wasn't raining though it seemed like it might soon. It was better because I knew what to expect and packed an umbrella. Chess Club Eric sat by me in English. His chatter irritated me but I didn't say anything and let him talk my ear off. People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Luke, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.

After lunch I went to the guidance's office. I heard talking in the room and so I waited outside. You know, to be polite. Perseus's floated out and dripped like honey. Slow and smooth. "-wondering if I could trade Science for another class."

"Oh sorry dear. All the other classes are full."

"Can I unenroll from that class then?'

There was a beat.

"Are you sure dear? You may not gain enough credits to pass."

"Oh, I'm sure that I'll manage somehow."

"I'm still not-" Whatever she said next I couldn't hear because a girl in a bright blue t-shirt walked and the door opened wide.

As the door slammed shut, the wind blew through my hair. I blinked, feeling a little frazzled.

"I see that can't be possible. Thank you though," Perseus's velvet-like voice said and he was a blur as he passed.

He disliked me so much that he would take the risk of failing high school to get away from me? I swallowed down the unexpected feelings that rose up in my throat. Or maybe that was bile. Call me shallow, but I felt hurt that he disliked me so much.

Pursing my lips, I walked into the little office. My good mood had disappeared.

That afternoon in science, Perseus was nowhere to be found. I sat by my lonesome and pretended that I didn't know why he was absent. Stared out the window.

Once again, I was right. The pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the window distracted me from my work and so I gave up on it completely. Whatever. I can do it for homework.

I shut my eyes and turned my head towards the window so no one would see and ask questions. My thoughts wandered back to this afternoon. Why would he do that? What did I do to make him hate me so much? Why did I care so much? I opened my eyes and stared out at the blurry gray sky. It looked like my eyes right then. Maybe he just didn't like me. Maybe he found my voice annoying. Maybe he found me ugly. My eyes burned a little. Why did I care so much? I pressed my lips into a thin line and turned around.

Luke was looking straight at me. His eyes were soft but other than that, his face gave away nothing.

I tilted my head and he smiled at me. Before I knew what I was doing I smiled back.

His eyebrows furrowed and he gave me a thumbs up like he was asking me how I was. I gave him a thumbs up back.

His face relaxed and after he smiled at me, he went back to his work. _Luke..._ He liked me. And I liked him. So what did it matter what Perseus thought? My breathing slowed as I listened to the therapeutic sound of the rain.

Before I knew it, I was asleep.

* * *

Someone was shaking me. It was annoying. And sounded like Luke. _Luke_ , I thought dreamily. Wait... what was he doing in my bedroom?

My head shot up and Luke moved out of the way, last second.

I blinked at him blearily as his eyes shone with amusement.

"Get out of my class, Annabelle," Mr. D called. Then he burped.

My face flushed and I wanted to slap myself for falling asleep.

Luke chuckled and pulled me out of my chair. I leaned against him, not fully realizing what was happening. He grabbed my books and guided me out of the classroom.

"Have a nice nap?" He asked, eyes twinkling.

I blushed even more. Luke chuckled again.

I tugged at my books and he let me take them. Then I realized how close we were walking and so I stepped away. Luke looked kind of... disappointed?

"Are we still on for Friday?" he asked.

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yep! Just 2 more days to go!" As soon as the words left my mouth I regretted it. God, he must think I'm such a dork. Instead of reacting like I expected, he smiled and looked just as excited as I was. Knowing this made something in my chest beat even louder.

And as if he could hear it, his lips twitched up even higher. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this while listening to shitty pop music :/  
> some comments would be nice if you don't mind too much.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story starts as Annabeth moves to Forks. She tries to fit in and make friends and gets a date with a boy Luke. Their date gets canceled because there is a car crash(van skids on ice) and Percy saves her. They all go to the hospital. Later, Annabeth and Thalia bonded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out my blog! https://layla-storyupdates-blog.tumblr.com/  
> the password is laylalayla

I pulled into the school parking lot Friday morning, excitement and nervousness bubbling under my skin. Today I was finally going on a date with Luke! I paused for a moment when I realized that he was invading all of my thoughts and making homes. I scowled at that, angry at myself.

When I was 12 years old, I had a crush on a guy named Austin. He was blonde and blue-eyed. Actually now that I thought about it, he looked kind of like Luke.  _ Huh _ , I mused.  _ I guess I do have a type.  _ But anyway, he had a bright smile and a sunny composition. Like Luke did. The moment I saw him butterflies fluttered in my stomach. My twelve year old heart beated much too fast when he came around. Whenever he came around I would stammer and blush and spout dictionary definitions and facts straight from the 'Guinness Book of World Records' to try and impress him. As you may be able to tell, it went miserably. He stared at me awkwardly and I walked away, my head hung in shame. Silena hugged me and had tried to comfort me but all of that was lost when Austin came up to me and asked if I was that 'pretty girl Silena's friend.

We hadn't talked for two weeks after that. I'll admit, it was my fault. I was just so  _ mad _ . It wasn't fair that Silena could be so  _ pretty  _ and  _ nice  _ and  _ perfect _ while I... wasn't. I mentally sighed at how petty 12-year-old me was. Anyway, I was so obsessed with him and I cried so hard that night. First love's always the hardest.

That night, I had vowed to never let my life be dictated by a boy's.  _ Zoe would've been proud _ , I reminisced.

My breath hitched at the thought of Zoe. She was yet another reason I had to get away from Phoenix; the city of my childhood memories.

I stuffed my phone into my backpack and stepped outside. When I didn't slip the moment I stepped onto the ice, I frowned and looked down. The confusion cleared and I felt eternally grateful that the shoes I had absentmindedly decided to put on this morning were my combat boots which had grips.

I licked my dry lips, chapped from the crisp December air.

Wiggling my fuzzy socks in my boots, I bent next to my car tires to check why my old car didn't skid.

My lips twitched upwards when I realized that the tires were replaced with snow tires. It was at moments like these that I'm reminded of how much I'm like my mother. Both Mother and I liked to prove that we were independent and we could do things on our own without help from men. That was the main reason that he never replaced the light bulbs in our house; I refused to let him. That usually left Helen to do it except she didn't know how to do simple things. Like. That woman could get someone 'trigger-friendly' out of jail and yet she couldn't replace a bulb.

I placed my fingers above the tire and onto the cool metal of my truck. Mother must have gotten up earlier than usual so that she could do this for me. My eyes grew softer as I appreciated the gesture.

I stood up before anyone could notice I was getting emotional over  _ car wheels _ .

Biting my lip as I looked around the lot, I was unsuccessful in quelling a fidgety feeling that rose under my skin.

I exhaled loudly and searched to see if anyone looked like they were feeling the same.

No one else did though. I could spot Rachel's bright red hair from here; she was chattering animatedly with Reyna. Reyna hiked her backpack higher up her shoulder.

Eric just got out of his car. The door on the other side opened and a curly-haired Latino got out too. Maybe he and Eric were brothers. They too didn't seem to think anything was amiss.

I walked a bit further before I caught Perseus's eye. I frowned at him. His eyes seemed to be a different color today. I couldn't tell from this far but they were either blue or green like I had originally guessed. Did he get contacts or something? He frowned back at me and we frowned in harmony.

The wind picked up a little bit and my hair was ruffled. Perseus seemed to be in some kind of pain as of now. He was so… odd. His family too. They didn't eat, they were all ridiculously pale and graceful, they looked tired all the time and they acted like they were too good for the rest of us mere mortals.

Did they think they were gods or something? I scoffed at that.

The feeling climaxed in the pit of my stomach when I looked away from Perseus. It thundered slightly but didn't rain. I was grateful for that. The weather and the roads would be absolutely unbearable if it did.

I started to walk a little faster as a high-pitched screeching sound started to get steadily louder. I started to look around, startled when several things happened at once. I suddenly understood the true meaning of slow motion. Fear seemed to make my thoughts turn to sludge and I gaped stupidly as I noticed a few things.

1, Perseus Jackson was standing 4 cars down from me. 2, there was a dark blue van skidding across the ice and straight for me. It was going hit me, I realized numbly. I thought of the mother I never got to know and the father I never thanked..

I squeezed my eyes shut but not before I caught a flash of sea-green a black blur.

I gasped as I collided with something. After I took a deep breath I opened my eyes into slits and widened them in shock.

...it was Perseus. He was lifting the van?  _ No. _ I blinked again.

But there he was, lifting a 2 ton truck so that it wouldn't crush my legs and paralyze me from the waist down. He moved it to the side and I stared at the hand marks in the truck from where he had stopped it.

Finally, he seemed to notice that my eyes were open and he dropped me in shock. I winced as my head hit the pavement. Not too much to start bleeding hopefully. I touched the tender skin on my head and scowled up at him. Then, I remembered that he saved me from being paralyzed from the waist down and dropped my frown.

He seemed amused by the sudden change of expression and kneeled down before.

"Hi," he muttered and I blinked at him.  _ What? _ !

"Hi," I echoed.

"You alright?" He seemed genuinely worried. Like he actually wanted to know instead of those people who say it like it's a pleasantry. So, I decided to be honest with him.

I sat up and he moved back to give me some space. "Not really."

He frowned. "And why not?"

I stared at him and gestured to the van.

He looked at me sheepishly. "Oh right."

"Right," I drawled. "So..."

"So?" he prodded.

I opened my mouth to ask him what all the weight-lifting was about when I remembered the fact that a car crash affects  _ two  _ people most of the time. The person on the outside and the person in the car.

I shot up and Perseus flung himself backwards and away from. I paid him no mind as I ignored the spots dancing in front of me and yanked the car door open. Inside of it was a girl with brown hair. She was wearing a bright purple sweatshirt and my mind flashed back to when I found Perseus trying to switch to another class. She was the girl who had burst out of the door.

My hands flew up to cover my mouth. She was passed out and there was a bad purple bruise on her forehead. Probably from when she banged her head against her car.

Luckily, she wasn't bleeding. I frowned. Externally at least. She probably had internal bleeding and I exhaled, knowing that was much worse. I turned to Perseus to find him looking at me curiously from his 6 feet away.

"Well?" I snapped. "Call an ambulance."

He nodded slowly and pulled out his phone.

He cleared his throat and spoke with his voice like honey. "Hello? I'm at the high school and we've had a car crash? Mhm. Yes, thank you."

He sighed and put his phone back into his pocket. "Happy?"

I scowled at him, heroic deeds forgotten. "No."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned to face him fully. "What was that?"

His face was carefully blank which only proved the fact that  _ something had happened _ . "What was what?"

I glared at him and waved my hands around. "That! Y-you lifted a two ton truck and you appeared out of nowhere and you were and there and know you're here and ugh!" I kicked the car and winced, immediately regretting it.

"Are you okay?" he said slowly.

I felt tears prick my eyelids uncomfortably. I sounded crazy. Who would believe me?  _ No one _ would believe me.

I started my descent into hysterics when Perseus suddenly coughed loudly.

"What?" I snapped, for the second time.

"Will you tell anyone?" he asked and I looked into his eyes.

My breath hitched in my throat. How could I ever have mistaken them for something as dull a regular blue or green. His eyes were a vibrant sea-green like the ocean itself. I saw right then there, that he was giving me trust. He was giving me trust and asking for me to give some back.

I shook my head. "No."

He relaxed and let a small smile slip onto his face. "Thank you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "This isn't over yet. I'd still like to know what I'm lying for."

The smile slipped away and he scowled at me. "No."

"Yes."

" _ No _ ," he said firmly but I could be very stubborn.

"Yes. I’ll find out one way or another."

We both turned to look at the ambulance headed towards us and the wreckage.

He exhaled loudly and irritably. "Later."

"Later," I agreed.

I scowled as a nurse secured my neck brace. I didn't even need the stupid thing!

She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow as if she could tell what I was thinking.

I ducked my head and heard her sigh and move away.

The faint beeping of the machine's were the only noises interrupting the quiet. I leaned back on my cot and shifted uncomfortably on the paper sheets.

I turned my head to look at the patient next to me. The girl was still unconscious and her breathing was steady. The bruise on her forehead stood out like a neon sign and I frowned at that.

Sighing, I sat up again feeling unable to get comfortable. I've always disliked hospitals.

Footsteps were heard outside my door but they passed as the person walked by.

I unclipped the neck brace and threw it under the bed.

Then I stood stiffly and looked around feeling caged.

As I paced around, I attempted to organize my thoughts.

_ Okay. Perseus managed to lift a two ton truck like it was completely normal and weighed nothing. His hand dented the car like the metal was butter. He managed to teleport? I don't know but he managed to get one from place to another without moving. _

I pinched the bridge of my nose.  _ I need therapy... _

_ He also saved me from being paralyzed from the waist down. Why would he do that? _

I heard the pounding of footsteps and the door was thrown open as Luke burst in. As soon as he spotted me, I found myself wrapped in a bear hug.

_ Oh crap Luke! And our date _ today! I thought miserably.

Luke's mouth was moving so fast and I pulled out of my thoughts and attempted to listen to what he was saying.

"-glad. I was  _ so _ worried, Annabeth."

He stared deep into my eyes and I felt my cheeks flush.

He started to lean in and tilted his head a little. I mirrored his movements when suddenly, the doors flew open. Again.

Perseus walked in. He observed our position with cold eyes and I bit my lip suddenly feeling guilty though I hadn't done anything wrong.

Luke pushed me behind him and sneered when Perseus spoke. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Luke scowled and opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it. "You're not," I said.

I watched him with narrowed eyes. "I'd like to speak to you, actually."

Luke looked alarmed. "Wait... what?! No! Annabeth, you can't."

I stared at Luke. "I can't? And why not?"

Luke's scowl returned. "You should stay away from him."

I felt a prick of irritation and anger. Why was everybody in Forks so bloody cryptic? I turned my back on both of them and walked to the bed. Frowning, I looked around for my jacket. I remember taking it off... The crease between my brows left as I found it on the floor on the other side of the bed. I picked it up and sat down.

Unzipping the pocket, I pulled out my phone and turned it on. There were a few messages from dad and one from Silena.

I looked up to find both Luke and Percy staring at me with an unfathomable expression. "Can I help you?" I said slowly.

Perseus just stood there and didn't reply but Luke shook his head. Shrugging, I plugged in my earbuds and placed them in my ears. I relaxed against the headboard as Celine Dion's voice flooded the mini-speakers.

Humming lightly, I replied to dad's email feeling slightly irrational though I wasn't doing anything particularly strange.

**Dad:** Hello Annabeth. How are you? Everything's great over here. I hope you and your mother are doing well. Are you fitting in at your new school? Did you make any friends? Did you meet any boys? Remember, no boys till college. Reply soon sweetie. Call me too okay? Bobby and Mathew won their soccer tournament. We miss you.

Your dad.

I rolled my eyes at the 'no boys' comment. If only he could see me now...

**Me:** Hi Dad! I'm great. How's Helen doing? Me and mom are doing fine. Yeah, I am. I made a few new friends. Yes, I did meet boys. And remember what we agreed on? I could have a boyfriend, you said. Don't worry though, I probably won't get one. None of them here are-

I paused my typing to look at Luke and Perseus. I tilted my head, wondering how to describe them.

Perseus looked at me like I was an alien and so I smiled at him like I knew a secret.  _ Whatever. Let him believe I'm a nutter. _

I turned back to my phone and deleted that last sentence.

**Me:** Don't worry though, I probably won't get one. The one date I had probably isn't even going to happen because I got hospitalized.

Wincing, I imagined the heart-attack dad would have when he read that and backspaced.

**Me:** Don't worry though, I'll try to avoid them. They're all really strange here... Sorry I haven't been able to reply. I was busy learning the things that I learnt like two years ago. The school's so small here! I already learnt everything that they're teaching in the advanced course back in Phoenix. Also, our science teacher's super weird. He insists on calling me Annabelle or something. Bobby and Mathew actually won?! Good for them. Tell them I said good job. I miss you too, dad. Mom's casserole is the worst and she insists on making it like every other day. Don't tell Mom I think that though. ;)

Love, Annabeth.

I hit the little arrow with the pad of my thumb and made sure that it was sent.

Sighing, I pressed pause and pulled out the earbuds.

_ Crap. Well I should probably call mom now. _

Exhaling, I walked out so I could go call my mother and let her know I was safe. Small towns like Forks equals no secrets and she was bound to have found out by now.

Luke stepped in front of me. "Where are you going?"

I glared at him. "Somewhere." I walked around him.

Perseus moved out of my way and let me go in peace.

I dialed her number and the phone was picked up on the first ring.

"Annabeth?" my mother's voice sounded frantic, I noted.

"I'm fine, Mother."

I heard her exhale. "Thank goodness. I'm at the hospital right now."

"Okay, then. See you."

Mother sighed tiredly and I heard slight static when I cut the call.

Luke burst out and looked like he wanted to say something to me but I held up my hand and cut him off. Honestly, I didn't want to deal with this right now.

"I'm going to find my Mother. Sorry, but I don't think I can make it to our date."

Luke nodded. "Of course. Raincheck?"

I smiled. "Raincheck," I agreed.

In a better mood I walked down the hall, feeling the caged feeling ebb away bit by bit. What I really wanted to do was go to the park and sit on the swings. Then I'd either read a book there or I'd swing until I could touch the clouds.

Not that it's actually possible. Science says-... screw science. As a little kid I used to want to live on the clouds. I wanted to live high up and away from everything else.

Me and Silena used to sit on the park bench back in Phoenix and stare at the sky with our head tilted up and necks bared. Onlookers would stare at us strangely but we didn't really care.

"Annabeth!" someone called out and I tried to pinpoint where it came from.

Mother called out again. "Annabeth!" She hugged me and I hugged back.

She pulled away and touched my temple. "All good?"

I nodded. "All good."

She shifted from one foot to the next. "Do you want to skip school?"

I perked up. "Can I?"

Mother nodded. "I'll take the day off. We could spend some time or..." Mother trailed off and I smiled at her. "That would be great."

We both walked to the lobby so we could check out when we were suddenly mobbed by my classmates.

"Annabeth!" Rachel cried. "Are you OKAY?"

I sent her a dry look. "I'm fine, you guys."

Eric still looked worried. I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to spend the rest of the day with my mom at home. I'll see you all tomorrow, okay?"

Rachel nodded eagerly. "But we expect to hear everything tomorrow."

I waved my hand absently. "Sure, yeah. Whatever."

Mother finished signing us out and so we both walked out.

Thalia was outside leaning on her black car. Once she spotted us she pushed off the metal and greeted us.

"Hi Ms. Chase. Hey Annabeth. Are you good?"

I nodded and smiled. I knew I was right to like Thalia. She was genuine. And had great hair. "I'm great. Thanks."

Thalia nodded and gave a small smile. "Good to know. You're not coming back to school right?"

I shook my head. "Going home to spend the day with my mom."

"Ah. Sounds nice."

I made a split second decision. "Do you want to come?"

Thalia looked surprised. So did Mother actually. "I mean, can she come Mother? Only if you want to though, Thalia."

Mother looked hesitant. "Well, of course she can come. It's just- will your parents allow you to skip school?"

Thalia waved her hand. "Yeah, mom probably won't care." She grinned. "Besides, ditching is healthy every now and then."

I grinned back but Mother just looked stuck. I sniggered mentally. Mother was probably going on in her head about how Thalia would be a bad influence for me.

Thalia opened her car door. "I'll follow you guys."

Thalia slumped on the floor with her back against the couch with a pizza in hand.

She took a bite and sighed constantly. Then she turned to face me. "So. Now will you tell me what's up with you?"

I startled and turned my back to her, pretending to organize our CD's. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh. Cut the crap Annabeth."

I scowled and didn't say anything. Pressing play on the remote, we watched Emma Watson act as Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast' for a while before we Thalia snatched the remote and paused the movie.

"As great as Disney princesses are, we're going to talk about your problems."

"I don't have problems."

Thalia gave me a dry look. "Everyone has problems, hon."

"Then why aren't you talking to  _ everyone  _ about  _ their _ problems?"

Thalia wrinkled her nose. "Because their problems are shallow like they are. And you're my friend."

I bit back my smile and sighed. "I'm not insane, am I?" I asked suddenly.

Thalia looked at me strangely. "No more than the rest of us, why?"

I shrugged. "Something pretty crazy happened and I'm pretty sure that I didn't imagine it. It was just. So weird."

Thalia leaned towards me. "Ooh. What was it?"

I hesitated. "Promise not to tell anyone?"

Thalia looked solemn and held her pinkie out in front of me. "Promise."

I linked my pinkie with hers and let go after we promised.

I voiced my thoughts from earlier. "This morning before the car crash, Perseus was standing like 4 cars down from me. The car was headed my way when he suddenly appeared in front of me and stopped the car with his bare hands. He lifted it up with one hand and picked me up with the other. I know it sounds crazy but it really did happen." My voice sounded hushed.

Thalia contemplated that. "That does sound pretty crazy," she admitted.

I exhaled and leaned back. "I believe you though."

I sat up suddenly and my back cracked. Wincing at the sound, I asked, "What? Really?! Why."

She shrugged. "I just don't think you'd lie about something like that."

I smiled, glad to have her as a friend. "Thanks."

"Hm, yes. You shall be eternally grateful yada yada. Why do you think that happened?" She gasped. "Maybe he's superhuman! Or not even human!"

I stared at her for a second. I hadn't even considered that. "Maybe?"

She rolled her eyes. "Kidding."

I forced myself to relax. "Oh, right."

She coughed as if clearing her throat would clear the tension.

A few more tense seconds.

I giggled and Thalia smiled. All of a sudden this whole situation seemed so ridiculous. We both giggled and when Mother walked in and asked us what was so funny, we just waved it off.

I didn't know much at the moment. But I knew I was glad to have a friend to help carry me through it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase learns about the aunt she never had and the truth about the Jacksons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth Chase(Bella Swan),Percy Jackson (Edward Cullen), Athena(Chief Swan), Nico di Angelo(Jasper), Jason Grace(Emmet), Will Solace(Alice), Piper McLean(Rosalie), Thalia(Angela), Rachel Elizabeth Dare(Jess) and Luke(Mike). Reyna (Lauren)

When I woke up on Saturday, it was much too quiet. Well, the house was always quiet but this quiet was  _ different.  _ In a bad way.

My brow furrowed as I brushed my teeth. What could be wrong? Maybe it was just me... But the last time I thought so, a car crash had happened. I spit my toothpaste out into the sink and sighed.

After I got dressed, I rushed down the stairs two steps at a time. I walked into the kitchen to search for Mother but she wasn't there. A panicky feeling rose in my chest and I exhaled my worry. Mother is probably fine. She's detective Athena Olympian for goodness's sake!

Still, I made sure my footsteps were quiet as I padded into the living room. Mother was sitting on the couch and I relaxed. However, my earlier assumption was not correct. She most definitely was not fine. Mother was... crying? Yes, she was crying as she looked at her photo album. She ran her fingers over the cheap plastic protectors. My brow furrowed in confusion as I walked over to her.

She looked up suddenly and wiped away the tears on her face hurriedly. "Oh, hi Annabeth. Sorry you had to find me like this." She chuckled weakly and gave me a watery smile.

"Hi Mother," I hesitated before asking," What are you doing?"

She patted the cushion next to her and I sat down. "I'm looking at photos from your Father and I's wedding."

I nodded. "Cool."

I peered down at the photos of Mother and Dad. Mother looked so pretty in her white gown. Dad... looked like Dad. Super awkward.

I looked curiously at one specific photo. It was one of the mothers in her beautiful white gown, laughing and smiling with another woman. She was gorgeous with her caramel brown hair hung in ringlets and hazel eyes. What surprised me in that photo was how happy and open Mother looked.

I put my finger next to the photo and turned to Mother. "Who's that?"

To my surprise, Mother started to tear up again. "That's my sister."

"You have a sister?"

She shook her head. "Not anymore."

My heart dropped to my stomach. "Oh."

Mother gave me a tight smile. "I forgot. You never knew her. She died just before you were born."

I pursed my lips and turned to stare at the beautiful woman in the photo.

Mother continued, "Her name was Bianca Minerva Olympian. She died too soon. She was such... a hardworking person who just... was so wonderful to be around. You two would have gotten along wonderfully. She was my younger sister and she went to college in Alaska. She wanted to be a geneticist. We named you after her. Gave you both the same middle name."

I felt tears prick my eyes. Why was I sad? I never knew her so I never missed her. And yet, I felt connected. I wanted to know more.

"Today was her favorite day of the year. Not her birthday but today. She loved winters in Forks. She just loved Forks in general, you know? She loved it even though Alaska was her home. She died here."

"She did?"

"Mhm. No one knows how. She just died while she was asleep. All the blood drained from her body. I was going to visit her when I found her like that. I wanted to investigate more but your Father didn't like it."

I frowned. I wanted to investigate more too. Mother sniffled and I wrapped her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry you never got to know her Anna."

That shattered something in me. I could have had an aunt. I tried to imagine what life would be like. Would she have brought me books for my birthday? Would she have talked to me about boys? I never will get to know this incredible woman. Mother pulled away and I stood up. "I have to go somewhere," I said, knowing how insensitive I sounded.

Mother gave me a sad knowing smile. "Alright sweetie."

I walked towards the door and pulled my coat out of the closet. Grabbing the keys off the hook, I stepped outside into the cool, crisp air.

I ran to the car and stepped inside, starting the engine with a destination in mind.

Rachel was hauling her trash can down the street as I drove by and she waved at me. I waved back emptily but took in her outfit. She was painted... gold?

I pulled up at the cemetery and stepped out of my car. I exhaled and watched as a white puff of air like stardust blew out of my mouth.

It wasn't empty like I had hoped it would be. Instead, there was a hooded figure crouching before a stone. They were planting dahlias and my heart went out to them. As I walked around searching for  _ Bianca Minerva Olympian  _ they stiffened.

They stood up and I stepped back, a little afraid. The hood fell down and I stared and I realized that I recognized the figure. It was Nico Grace, from school. Brother of Perseus Jackson the creep. I looked at him curiously and my eyes flickered down to the stone next to him.  _ Bianca Minerva Chase,  _ it read and I froze. What was he doing? I marched towards him, fully wanting to give him a piece of my mind when he turned around fully.

It's totally nor fair how I looked like a cow while these people looked like  _ gods _ .

"What are you doing here?" he asked me quietly and yet his voice seemed to echo around.

"Visiting my aunt, " I fired back. "What are  _ you  _ doing?"

He looked at me curiously before nodding. "Your aunt, of course," he muttered. He looked up. "I'm not doing anything."

"Hmph." I walked towards the stone next to him and he stepped away. I crouched down and stared at the numbers that were etched in a clear cursive against the stone. Funny how long we live is numbered.

I ran my fingers over the cool stone and layed my forehead against it. I wanted to say something but I wasn't sure what and Nico was standing behind me somewhere. What  _ could  _ I say anyway? Hi Auntie. I'm sorry that I'm probably a disappointment?

I heard his soft exhale and he spoke. "I'm sure she was a great person."

I stood up and turned to look at him. He stood a good 6 feet away from me. "How would you know?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't."

"Hmm." I found  _ myself _ wanting to say more. I wanted to know more about what Nico thought of this woman.

"She wanted to be a geneticist did you know? Of course you don't. I do though. I asked my Mother, she told me." I laughed hollowly. "All the incredible people in my life die." I kicked against the ground. "Zoe. Her." I pointed. "Although she was never in my life. Or I was never in hers. She died before I was born."

The wind blew and Nico's fringe fluttered around his face. I observed his reaction carefully.

His face seemed to have an ethereal glow and he seemed stuck in a time period different from my own with his melancholy sort of beauty.

His eyes seemed despondent. And knowing. He could rearrange his facial features but eyes are key to the soul. The eyes never lie.

"I'm sure she was a great person," he repeated. "And I'm sure she's missed."  _ By me!  _ his eyes seemed to cry.

"Oh she is," I agreed. I thought about it though. How could he have known her? He was my age wasn't he? Maybe he was held back a few years? I frowned. Still, she wouldn't have been able to remember her. And besides, they moved here two years ago.

_ But where did they move from? Details are important Anna, _ a voice that sounded like my Mother's input.

"Where did you move from?"

He blinked. "What?"

I tapped my foot impatiently. "Someone told me you moved here two years ago. Where did you move from?"

"Oh. Um, Alaska."

I narrowed my eyes at him.  _ Alaska. My aunt lived there.  _ Still, there was the question of how old he was.

"How old are you?"

He seemed unfazed. "Sixteen."

I exhaled frustratedly. Maybe he really was sixteen. Maybe he was just a regular person like everybody else and that incident with Perseus was a figment of my imagination. Maybe I was just looking for trouble and everyone here was ordinary. Yet still... "How long have you been sixteen?"

He froze. "What do you mean?" He spoke urgently.

I raised my chin up defiantly. "What  _ do  _ I mean?"

He raised his head a fraction of an inch and suddenly, it was a standoff.

"All I know is that you and your family are freakishly strong and have somehow managed to live for a really long time yet look like a teenager. Is that it? Did you freeze in time when you were a teenager? Watching the world around you develop as you tried to develop yourself? And my aunt knew about it too." I nodded and suddenly it all started to come together. "That's why she wanted to be a geneticist. To investigate whatever mutant thing you are."

Nico pursed his lips and looked to the side.

"You met her in Alaska. Yes, that's why she lived there even though her heart was here." I looked down at the grave. "Literally," I commented dryly.

"And then she died." I exhaled. "All the blood sucked out of her body." I squinted. "How is that even possible? What- are you a vamp-" I froze and my jaw dropped open. "You're a vampire," I said calmly.

That calm lasted for about 3 seconds before I started sprinting towards my car. As I reached an old red truck, Nico suddenly appeared in front me and I tripped over my feet as I stumbled back and landed on my bum.

"What the hell?! Oh my god, stay away! I don't taste good, I swear! I'm a rotten person."

To my surprise, he smiled.

"Your aunt said the same thing when she found out. All on her own too." His eyes glinted. "Don't worry, I won't kill a relative of my dead best friend."

"Best friend?" I whispered. "So you didn't kill her?"

He looked taken aback. "I- what? Of course not. Besides, my coven doesn't hunt people. We live on animal blood."

"Of course you do," I muttered. I tucked my hair behind my ears and out of my eyes. "Then what happened to my aunt?"

Nico sighed and held out a hand in front of me. I stared at his hand then looked up into his eyes, realizing what he was asking for.  _ Trust. _

I wanted to know more about my aunt didn't I? But vampires?! I pursed my lips as I stared at Nico. His hair blew around his eyes and I realized that they were brown and not black. No, he wasn't evil. Not even bad. My aunt trusted him so I will too.

Reaching, I clasped his hand and blinked when he pulled me up as if I weighed nothing.

I brushed dust off of my clothing and asked, "Where are we going?"

"To your aunt's favorite spot."

I looked at him strangely. "I see..." I said, not really seeing.

Nico just gave me a tight-lipped smile and I pulled my car keys out of my pocket.

He shook his head. "We're not taking a car."

I frowned. "We're not?"

"No. You'll have to ride on my back."

I gaped at him for a few seconds. "Are you serious?"

His eyes shined. "I'm as serious as I am gay."

Still, I was dubious. He sighed. "I'm very gay."

"Mmhm," I said at the absurdity of it all. A gay vampire. "How do I know this isn't a plot to drag me into the woods so you can bury my body?"

He snorted. "I'm much faster than you'll ever be. If I wanted to bury the evidence I would've done it by now."

"Won't like... my scent? Trigger you or something."

He looked at me curiously. "How do you know about scents?"

I shrugged. "Movies. Books."

His lip twitched upwards. "Most of that stuff is fake but yea. The scent usually does trigger. Fortunately, I'm quite accustomed to your aunt's scent and you... you're a lot like her you know?"

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

I sighed, wondering if I'd regret this later. "Alright. Let's do this."

He grinned and I climbed onto his back.

"Hang on," he said before taking off.

I shut my eyes tightly and thought,  _ This must be how it feels to have your face get ripped off. _

A minute later Nico stopped and I gasped. He let me down and I crouched on the grass.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to get rid of the bile rising in my throat. "Never. Again."

Nico chuckled and I felt my lips twitch upward involuntarily at the sound. "You really are so much like your aunt."

I opened my eyes slowly and gasped again at the view. "This is... incredible."

Nico sat down next me and scooted forward, dangling his feet over the ledge. "She always used to tell me about this place. I didn't even know where it was until I discovered it about 6 months ago. Amazing, right?"

"Yeah," I breathed, moving forward and peering cautiously over the edge. We were on a cliff that sat over a few mountains. It wasn't high enough that I needed an oxygen mask but the view was still lovely. How far did Nico run?

"Where are we?"

He didn't look away from the view. "Ashford," he said casually and I gaped.

"Ashford! But that's like- Ashford?!"

He smiled. "Don't worry. I'll get you back in time for lunch." I stared at him. "Whose lunch," I said slowly and he laughed. "Yours."

I checked my watch.  **_11:02 AM_ ** it blared. "Alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone. i have written everything up until chapter 5. that's why i've been able to update so fast. but anyway, when i originally wrote this, i wrote this for the uncle that i never had. i miss him. i do, even to i never got a chance to know him. he died a month before i was born. only a month. he died at the ripe age of 26 and he will be missed and be held cloase to our hearts.  
> other than that, i was up all night writing a 1000 word essay and i'm so tired it's not even funny. :(  
> comments will cheer me up!  
> P.S. pls excuse any errors. i'm a blithering idiot who needs to get an effing beta.  
> P.P.S. does anyone know where i can get a beta?


	5. Chapter 5

Monday morning, I exited my car and scoured the parking lot for Thalia so I could fill her in on all that had happened. I spotted her talking to a girl with long dark hair and I did a double take as I got closer to her. Was Thalia... blushing?

I smirked as I walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. She whirled around. "Annabeth! Oh- hi."

I tilted my head slightly. "Hi." I gestured to the girl standing about two feet away from us. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Thalia shifted uncomfortably and eyed my smirk warily. "Right. This is Reyna. Reyna, Annabeth." She gestured to me and I wiggled my fingers as sort of hello.

Reyna nodded professionally. "It's a pleasure to meet you Annabeth."

My smile widened a fraction. So this was Thalia's type... "It's nice to meet you too Reyna."

Thalia twirled a strand of her hair as Reyna hiked her back pack higher up her shoulder. "Well, I better get going. See you two around."

I smiled at her and nodded. Reyna smiled at me and Thalia and Thalia blushed once more. "See you around," she repeated and walked into the building.

I smirked again and nudged Thalia with my shoulder. "What was that about?"

Thalia groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Shut up."

I laughed and poked her elbow. "Come out, Thalia." I bit my lip before saying, "I have something to tell you."

Thalia peeked at me from out of her fingers. "This better be about the Creeps."

The 'Creeps' as we had dubbed them on Friday, were basically Perseus and his clan. Or should I say coven? Hmm...

I nodded hesitantly and Thalia pulled her hands away from her face. "So?" she said, sounding hushed. "Did you find out what they-" I cut her off by pressing my hand against her mouth.

Her eyes widened and she glared at me.

I held up my phone deliberately with my other hand and slowly removed my hand from her mouth. She scowled at me. "What was that for?!"

I exhaled. "Reasons." I turned my phone and ignored Thalia's questioning stare.

I opened up WhatsApp and sent a text to Thalia.

Her phone pinged and she pulled it out of her jacket pocket.

She read it quickly and then looked at me flatly. "Texting. Seriously?"

I pursed my lips and sent her another text.

Thalia sighed but obliged. She blinked for a second in surprise but then reread the text.

I bit my lip as I waited for her to type it out. Then it sunk in that she was texting me while I was literally standing right in front of her and sighed. This must be what a nutter feels like.

I held my breath as I read her text and carefully typed out another.

Thalia tapped her foot and patiently patiently for the text to come through. She wrinkled her nose. "Congrats to you Annabee for writing a long text. I hate those," she muttered in the last part and I would have been guilty maybe if she hadn't called me Annabee. She did though, and so I scowled at her.

We went back and forth with the texting for a while but then students started to approach the doors we were standing in front of and I checked the time. Five minutes till class starts. We both walked inside and I spotted Perseus walking down the hallway.

Rather than standing tall he had slouched into himself and it seemed like he wanted to disappear into his sweatshirt. I thought about all the students who walked around him. Not close enough to jostle him of course. He was one of them and though my classmates didn't know exactly what they were, they knew enough. Fascinating. Natural human instinct must steer us away from them automatically. The human mind was a curious thing.

Then I realized with a jolt and a fair bit of alarm that I had to spend a whole 53 minutes with a vampire who may or may not know that I know his darkest secret.

I walked into science class with my head held high. I was determined to keep my cool and not let anything spook me for the entirety of the class period.

Sighing, I brushed a curl over my shoulder.

Mr. D narrowed his eyes at me as I walked by his desk and I sped by before he could say anything. I heard a small huff come from the area around him.

Thalia met my eyes from across the room and tilted her head a tiny bit towards Perseus and my table. I understood what she was asking.  _ What are you going to do about  _ it _? _

I shrugged and saw rather than heard her soft sigh.

I swept my gaze across the room and found Luke intently staring at me. He looked at me with huge eyes and as if he was hanging onto my every move. I bit my lip to hide my smile at the thought and looked away.

Perseus was staring out the window. He rested his chin on his head and then shut his eyes. His hair looked soft in the light from the window. His entire being looked soft actually. This was a different creature than the cold, cruel Perseus I was used to. This boy looked like he was just trying to get through the day. He looked ordinary. I thought back to right after the crash and how he had greeted me. Suddenly, Perseus seemed too big a name for this small person.

He opened his eyes and turned. His gaze caught mine and his eyes hardened. His cruel persona returned once more.

I exhaled through my nose and seated myself beside him. He glared at me for two seconds before turning back to the window. I shook my head slightly and opened my binder. I unclipped my notebook from its clutches and clipped it again so that my papers wouldn't fall out. I closed my binder and pushed it to the side. I opened up my notebook and started on the Do Now.

Tapping my pen against the sheet, I thought about how to answer when suddenly Perseus snapped, "Can you stop?!"

I blinked at him. I had thought that we were going to continue this class period like all the others, just ignoring each other.

"Stop what?" I said slowly.

He gestured towards my person. "That!"

I raised an eyebrow.

He exhaled and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "The pen tapping! Can you please stop?"

I tilted my head at the please before realizing how loud my uneven pen tapping must be to him and winced. "Sorry."

I placed my pen down on the table and leaned back against my chair.

Perseus seemed kind of surprised that I stopped so easily. Did he expect me to put up a fight over  _ pen tapping?  _ I pursed my lip at the thought.

Perseus shifted awkwardly now that the conversation had died. "Erm... thanks."

I nodded. "Yeah..."

He coughed into his fist. "Um- so are you alright? From Friday," he added though it wasn't necessary. I already knew what he was talking about. But why would he bring it up if he knew that I knew he was a vampire?

"I'm fine." My brow furrowed and I thought of a way to test my theory of whether or not Perseus knew I knew. "Thanks for that. Saving me, I mean. How did you do it?" I widened my eyes and tried to make myself look innocent. If he  _ did  _ know that I knew, I was probably just making myself look stupid.

Instead, Perseus' eyes shifted from my face uncomfortably and he tapped his fingers against his leg nervously. "Um, I just... did it."

How curious. He was oblivious.

Oblivious... That seemed like a proper addition to his personality. Or at least the personality I have of him in my head. It was time to update it, I think.

" _ How _ did you just do it?" I pressed.

He pressed his lips together. "I don't know," he said firmly.

"Are you sure?" I wheedle.

He opened his mouth to say something more when Luke suddenly sat down in the 2 empty chairs across from us.

I blinked. Had I really been so focused on our conversation that I missed him approaching? Better yet, was Perseus so focused on our conversation he had missed Luke approaching? Didn't he have super sense?

Perseus blinked as well before settling on a neutral expression that was leaning towards frigid.

"Um...hi?"

Luke forced his face into a smile and I narrowed my eyes.

I caught Perseus's eye and we both came to the understanding that we both knew that Luke was being fake.

"Hi guys!" Luke chirped. He pulled out his science textbook and flipped to page 63. "Do you want to work together or do it separately."

"Do what?" Perseus said. Luke huffed irritably. "The lesson outline."

I frowned. _ I don't remember getting a lesson outline.  _ I spotted Thalia handing out the sheets from the corner of my eye.

She walked by to us and as she placed three sheets on our table raised her eyebrows at me. She tilted her head imperceptibly towards Perseus.  _ Wack,  _ I mouthed. She tilted her head towards Luke.  _ Cuckoo, _ I mouthed. She smirked at me and left me with the crazy boys.

Both Perseus and Luke were looking at me with a strange expression. Like they wanted to know what that whole exchange was about. I knew that they didn't see what I had mouthed because my head was turned the other way. They must have seen Thalia's smirk though.

I coughed lightly. "Shall we start?"

Perseus stared at Luke like he was a germ so I proposed working separately. We each did a section and as I cross referenced my notes, I noticed that Luke kept sneaking glances at me. I took in the way that he was positioned and frowned. He seemed... defensive. His body was angled away from Perseus and he seemed like he was ready to spring up and get as far away as possible at any sudden move. I sighed mentally. That's what  _ I  _ should be sitting like. I should be worried and scared for my life. Instead I just felt... calm. Unnaturally calm.

That brought something else to my attention. Why exactly was Luke sitting like that? He didn't know so he had no reason too. My eyes widened slightly. What if he  _ did  _ know? Or maybe it was because Perseus was sitting the exact same way.  _ Huh. _ Yea, that was probably it.

I cleared my throat and they both jumped. "Are you two finished?"

Perseus nodded but Luke shook his head. Perseus sneered at that. It didn't suit him.

"I just need help with these last two." I nodded and me and Luke set to work on those two. Perseus glared at us the entire time.

It felt nice, falling into the rhythm Luke and I had before as we worked together and scoured the book for answers. Luke must have been thinking the same thing because he smiled at me and I smiled back. 

Perseus coughed and drew our attention to him. He tapped his watch and stood up. “You’ll have to finish for homework. The class period is over.” 

Luke shrugged and shut his textbook. We both packed up and stood as well. Perseus had left, which I had expected of course. Luke waited for me as I bent down to tie my shoe.

I tapped his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

He nodded and we both walked out the door. Mr. D hiccuped as we passed by. 

We both walked towards our last class of the day which we, sadly, didn’t share. However, they were in the same space so we always walked together. Luke stopped and turned to face me and we both soaked in the atmosphere that only the end of the school day in December could provide. 

Luke coughed hesitantly. “Um, so I know that our date Friday got cancelled because er... you know and I was hoping I could get another chance?”

I smiled again. I seemed to do that a lot around Luke.  _ All the more reason to keep him!  _ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Silena’s inputted.  _ All the more reason to send him away. If you get too close and he leaves, you’ll be heartbroken,  _ inputted a voice that I hadn’t heard in a long time. I swallowed and sighed mentally. You know you’re strange when your subconscious sounds like the voice of your dead best friend. However, Zoe had always had trust issues. It had been the reason for her death. 

Ignoring the feeling in my gut that seemed to say  _ nonononono _ I smiled at Luke and said  _ yes _ . Me and Luke were going to try again it seemed. We were going to meet in Rosier’s at 6 like we had originally planned. Except instead of meeting Friday, we would be meeting Thursday. I asked for Thursday because Thursday had always been a lucky day for me and I wanted some of the luck to pass into our date.

As soon as I got home, I shut myself in my room and lay on the bed. My life right now… is perfectly fine. It bugged me. Made me antsy. It felt like there was a bubble around my brain stopping my instinct from working. I relied a lot on my instincts for they have never led me astray. So far. They’d lead me awry one day; I just knew it. Helen knew it too. She’s the one who told me. I usually don’t believe whatever crap comes out of her mouth but I did then.

_ Helen pursed her lips. “One day Annabeth. One day. It’ll come. Prepare yourself.” _

_ There was a sort of light to her eyes. That Annabeth had seen but not one that she had seen directed at  _ her _. Usually that light was towards Mathew and Bobby but there it was, shining in her green eyes. It was maternal and it looked worried.  _

_ Yet still… How could Annabeth know she could trust her? How could Annabeth know that she wouldn’t send her away to the boarding school she heard her and dad talking about when they thought she was asleep? She couldn’t.  _

_ Annabeth turned her head away. “Whatever. I'll deal with it then.” _

_ The light died in Helen’s eyes. She never saw it shining towards her again. _

**Bonus:**

**Texts Between Thalia and Annabeth:**

**Annabeth:** Thalia, I have something to tell you and it is very important and you can tell no one.

**Thalia:** annabeth i'm standing right in front of you and your grammar is disgusting. we're bloody texting why so formal

**Annabeth:** My grammar is beautiful. Anyway, I'm texting you because I don't want people to overhear.

**Thalia:** there's no one close to us. just tell me.

**Annabeth:** No, I have to text it because they'll hear us.

**Thalia:** who's they

**Annabeth:** Perseus and the creeps. They're vampires Thalia.

**Annabeth:** Stop laughing at me! I'm serious.

**Thalia:** i knew i had a reason to be worried about you. you've gone over the deep end beth

**Annabeth:** I haven't, I swear. I just found out that I have an aunt who is now dead and is Nico Grace's best friend. He told me yesterday at the cemetery when I went to visit her. They're fucking vampires except for the fact that they don't suck blood from humans. They've got like, superhuman powers and are super strong and have excellent eyesight and superhuman hearing. The whole package.

**Thalia:** I'm sorry for your loss Annabeth.

**Annabeth:** Proper grammar! You must be. And thank you Thals.

**Thalia:** :) don't get used to it. and actually that explains like so many things. the van skidding on friday for ex

**Annabeth:** Exactly. You're taking this surprisingly calm. I tried to bolt.

**Thalia:** it's b/c i'm awesome. (dont worry i'll freak out later). we'll talk later. we have to get class now.

**Annabeth:** Ok.

**Thalia:** you could have said that out loud you know

**Annabeth:** Whatever.

**Thalia:** that too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus:
> 
> Texts Between Thalia and Annabeth:
> 
> Annabeth: Thalia, I have something to tell you and it is very important and you can tell no one.
> 
> Thalia: annabeth i'm standing right in front of you and your grammar is disgusting. we're bloody texting why so formal
> 
> Annabeth: My grammar is beautiful. Anyway, I'm texting you because I don't want people to overhear.
> 
> Thalia: there's no one close to us. just tell me.
> 
> Annabeth: No, I have to text it because they'll hear us.
> 
> Thalia: who's they
> 
> Annabeth: Perseus and the creeps. They're vampires Thalia.
> 
> Annabeth: Stop laughing at me! I'm serious.
> 
> Thalia: i knew i had a reason to be worried about you. you've gone over the deep end beth
> 
> Annabeth: I haven't, I swear. I just found out that I have an aunt who is now dead and is Nico Grace's best friend. He told me yesterday at the cemetery when I went to visit her. They're fucking vampires except for the fact that they don't suck blood from humans. They've got like, superhuman powers and are super strong and have excellent eyesight and superhuman hearing. The whole package.
> 
> Thalia: I'm sorry for your loss Annabeth.
> 
> Annabeth: Proper grammar! You must be. And thank you Thals.
> 
> Thalia: :) don't get used to it. and actually that explains like so many things. the van skidding on friday for ex
> 
> Annabeth: Exactly. You're taking this surprisingly calm. I tried to bolt.
> 
> Thalia: it's b/c i'm awesome. (dont worry i'll freak out later). we'll talk later. we have to get class now.
> 
> Annabeth: Ok.
> 
> Thalia: you could have said that out loud you know
> 
> Annabeth: Whatever.
> 
> Thalia: that too  
> Reviews are cherished!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silena doesn't pick up any of Annabeth's calls. Annabeth and Leo meet at the car garage when Annabeth's car breaks down. Leo’s foster family is Eric’s family. They become friends and talk at school too. At the lukabeth date Annabeth realizes there is something weird with Luke. Annabeth’s Mom tells her about her therapy appointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inhales deeply* hi i'mbackplsdon'tkillmeokaycoolthx  
> don't you just love loopholes?

I sneezed into the crook of my elbow and made a face. 

Mother snorted at my expression and I stuck my tongue out at her.

She shook her head and went back to preparing breakfast. It was bacon again. On a flowery plate.

Sort of a tradition now, I figured. It was sort of a tradition to have bacon on Thursdays and sometimes Tuesdays(today was a Tuesday). It was sort of tradition to eat breakfast on a flowery plate, eat lunch from a brown paper bag(sometimes on the weekends too) and eat dinner on a paper plate because we both hated doing the dishes. 

Mother opened the drawer that was above the tupperware. She pulled out two forks and shut the drawer again. Mother brought down the Maple Chilli I knew she bought just for me and seasoned my bacon. I exhaled; soft enough for her not to hear and question. 

She placed a plate in front of me distracting me from my thoughts and I moved it so that the dahlia’s stem was facing north and away from me. I felt like it might jump off the plate and impale me if it wasn’t. 

I ate quickly because I always ate quickly and pre-cleaned my plate before placing it into the sink. I would’ve just dropped it into the sink like I do with spoons and everything else but the flower plates with the dahlia’s on them were Mother’s favorite.

I found my car keys in my jacket pocket where I had put them yesterday and put on my rain boots. I had an extra pair of sneakers in my gym locker so I didn’t have to worry about PE class. 

Mother looked up from her breakfast. “You’re leaving already?”

I nodded. “I need to stop by a gas station or a garage or something.”

Mother clicked her tongue. “Do you have enough money? I can-”

“No need, Mother.” I smiled at her. “I’m all set.”

She nodded and then pulled something out of her pocket. I eyed it. ‘It’ being Mother’s detective notebook. She used it to note observations and I know for a fact that it had helped her crack a plethora of cases. I also know that it is Mother’s second detective book. One might think that she might have more than just two small mystery-cracking notebooks with all the writing she does but Mother has tiny handwriting. She pulled a pencil that had been sharpened into a nub out of the spiral. After scribbling something down she ripped out the page and gestured for me to come take it. I walked forward and squinted at Mother’s small print. It was an address, I realized.

“That’s the address for my friend Hephaestas’s auto repair shop. One of his employees will be there instead of him though. He’s currently vacationing on some island. Maybe in the Bahamas. Or maybe he’s in Antarctica,” Mother mused. 

I stared at her and decided not to question her. “Ok? Thank you.”

I headed out to my car. Wrinkling my nose at the cold, I sat in my car and turned on the heater. The warmth would hit in a few minutes, I knew. 

I connected my phone to the car and scrolled through my phone for a song. Settling on my playlist full of Avril Lavigne, I hummed along to ‘Complicated' as I followed the instructions given to me by the GPS.

Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of my toasty car and out into the cold. 

_ festus’s Garage  _ it said in big flickering lights and I blinked. ...Happy garage? Festus was one of the few latin words that I knew. Then I noticed the grooves and realized that the rest of the letters must have fallen off over time. The lights flickered green and purple behind me as I stepped in.

I wrinkled my nose at the smell. It smelled like a bonfire. Not a bad smell per say, just a surprising one.

A curly haired Latino was going through a large trunk for tools. He picked something out of the box, threw it in the air, caught it and put it back in.

I shifted from one foot to the other and cleared my throat. He startled and dropped the tool he was holding.

He turned around to look at me. “Can I help you?”

I coughed. “Yeah. I just came to get fuel for my car?”

He nodded. “You’re Annabeth Chase right?”

My brow furrowed. “I am. Who are you?”

“Leo Valdez.” He grinned. “Pleasure to meet you. We go to school together.”

“Oh. Nice to meet you as well,” I replied.

We stared at each other for a moment before he said, ”Right. Well, this way.” I followed behind him to the machine and watched him carefully as he rigged my car up to the gas tank. He seemed to know what he was doing so I deemed that he wouldn’t mess up my car.

The buttons beeped as he pressed them. I handed him the money and he asked how much gas I wanted. I blinked. “Er… however much gas I can get with 25 dollars.” He nodded and continued.

“Well, you’ll have to wait a few minutes.” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “That’s okay though. I can keep you company.”

I rolled my eyes. Usually I would be offended if anyone tried to make a move on me like that but it seemed like Leo was just a person who acted like that with everyone.

“Don’t you have work to do or something?” I questioned.

He pouted. “Probably.” 

I raised an eyebrow and made a sweeping gesture towards the toolbox.

“Don’t hate on Leo,” he grumbled and set a timer on his watch.

I rolled my eyes once more and pulled my phone from my pocket. As I scrolled through my notification center, I seemed to have gotten a few missed calls from Silena. At three AM? My brow furrowed in worry. Silena was almost always unconscious before the clock struck twelve. Something about how, beauty translates into sleep or whatever. 

I called Silena and held my breath as it dialed.

“Hello! Silena here! Or  _ not  _ here, I guess. I’m unavailable right now so call me back later!” her chirpy voicemail said.

My brow furrowed. Maybe Silena is still sleeping now and when she had called me in the night, it was like a butt dial or something. 

Maybe…

Leo’s voice interrupted my worried spiel. “Er sorry. I’m realizing I should've asked you this earlier but uh, what’s your payment method?”

I answered his questions before my gaze snagged on the photo of what seemed like his family on a small desk.

I pointed. “Is that your family?”

He stiffened before looking to where I was pointing and relaxed. “Foster family,” he corrected. “I’m an orphan.”

My mouth fell open. “Oh, I am so sorry.”

He gave me a tight smile. “It’s alright.”

I looked at him sympathetically. “Sorry for your loss.” I gazed back at the photo and did a double-take when I realized that Eric-with-skin-problems was featured in it.

“You’re  _ Eric’ _ s foster brother?”

Leo nodded. “He mentioned you.”

I shifted from one foot to another. “Really?”

“Yea. Said you were nice and pretty.”   
  


I coughed. “What?”

He smirked. “I think he likes you.”

Leo rolled his eyes, seeming to sense my hesitancy and awkwardness. A smile tugged at his lips. “Chill. I’m not going to like, force you to return his feelings or anything.”

I turned a bit pink. Were my emotions really that out in the open? 

“Just don’t break my brother’s heart, Annabeth.”

I tilted my head in acknowledgement. “I think I can manage that.”

Leo gave me his phone number and I stuffed it into my jacket pocket. I told him that I’d see him at school and thanks for filling up my car.

Thalia greeted me at school with about a dozen different kinds of donuts. When I tried to snatch one, she slapped my hand away. I scowled down at her while she just smirked and flaunted her donuts in front of me.

I grumbled. “So mean.”

Thalia smirked. “Don’t sulk. It’s un-be-come-ing of you,” she pronounced. 

I sulked.

The rest of the day carries on as usual. Rachel gossips in my ear and though watching paint dry would have been the same amount of intrigue, I catch myself nodding along. Reyna comes and visits us at lunch and suddenly the amount of opportunities to tease Thalia are endless. No words could describe how pink her face had become really. Hilarious. Tensions between Luke and Perseus seem higher than ever. I sit between them as they glare at each other from across the room. Once the bell rang, Mr. D didn’t need to kick me out as I bolted out the moment the class was over.

As I head to my car, Luke catches my arm. ‘Hey,” he says somewhat shyly.

I smiled. “Hey.”

“We’re still on for tomorrow?” 

I nod and he grinned before heading to his car. I tried not to feel too giddy that the guy I liked had not only asked me on a date, but reminded me of it too.

The next day at school, I giddily told Luke ‘see-you-later’ . Thalia came over to help me get ready and while at first, I was reluctant to let her do my makeup, in the end I had to admit that she did a fabulous job. I was only reluctant because I thought she might make me look like a goth but all she did was enhance my natural feature. From Annabeth to  _ Glow _ ing Annabeth. Mother helped me pick an outfit. I called Silena’s number at least ten more times before I gave up.

Mother’s smile was a little watery as she took a few pictures of me. I rolled my eyes after the 9th photo and gave her a hug. I gave Thalia a hug too as thanks and waved bye to them as I walked to my car and drove off.

The restaurant had a red-pink neon sign that read  _ Rosier’s  _ with the  _ R  _ curving outwards and the  _ s  _ curving inwards.  _ It looks nice _ , I thought offhandedly as I walked in.

Luke was sitting at the booth in the corner which I appreciated. He was bouncing his foot anxiously and his blonde hair was gelled back. He was looking at his phone, texting to someone. 

The bell jingled as the door shut behind me and Luke looked up to meet my eyes. He smiled and after I walked up to him and took a seat across from him, he said, “You look nice.”

I smiled back. “Thanks. You do too.”

We both sat there stupidly for a moment before Luke tucked his phone into his pocket and a waitress came up to us.

My eyes widened as I recognized her from school and the day of the car accident. Next to her hairline, there was a faint scar. She must have noticed my staring and shook her head slightly. Her bangs moved to cover it. She must feel like Harry Potter half of the time. 

My lips curved upwards at the thought and I greeted her. “Hello.”

She put on a smile. “Hello! Welcome to  _ Rosier’s _ ! What can I get for you?”

I winced at the chirpiness of her voice and glanced down to quickly read the menu as Luke told her what he wanted. 

“I’ll have the same thing as Luke.”

She nodded and scribbled something into her little notebook. The girl gave us a nice smile and told us our food would be with us soon. Only after she left did it come to me that I should have got her name.

As we waited for our food, we both discussed some of our assignments and I laughed when Luke told me how Mr. D had called him Lincoln Castleton for about a month and a half. 

Luke rolled his eyes. “He kept calling my friend David, Davenport. He still does it every now and then.”

I snickered. “He’s the strangest teacher I’ve ever had.”

Luke raised his eyes. “Really? Mr. D’s nothing compared to some of the other teachers.”

I balanced my chin on my palm and leaned forward. “Explanation?”

“Once I had a teacher who used to act like he was actually a spy undercover. That freaked 9 year-old me so bad. I thought they had finally found out I had filched my classmate’s Iron Man and the government sent that teacher to kidnap me.”

I looked at him, amused. “Then why’d you steal your classmates Iron Man in the first place?”

Luke scrunched up his nose. “Well, I liked it. I wanted it… so I just took it. Probably not a good idea.”

“Yea. You should’ve just asked your parents to buy it for you.”

His fingers twitched inwards, almost like they were trying to curl into a fist. Luke’s voice sounded strained. “Yea. Silly me.”

I sipped water from my glass and observed him carefully. He had a smile on his face but the scar on his face was rippling in an unusual way. It usually looked different when he smiled. My mother’s voice supplied helpfully in brain,  _ his scar is his tell.  _

When I was twelve, I was especially interested in my mother’s job as a detective and had asked her to teach me how to find clues over the summer. I lost interest in that quickly though. The skills stuck with me, however.

The waitress appeared with our food. The girl had really good timing.

I looked at her gratefully. She quirked an eyebrow up, seeming to sense the tension. “Thank you… ?”

“Ela,” she supplied. I smiled. “Thanks Ela.”

Luke nodded at her as well and Ela walked off. He looked down at his plate and then at the utensils. He carefully reached out a finger and stroked the spoon. He sighed in relief when nothing happened.  _ But what was he expecting to happen in the first place? _

We both ate in an awkward silence. I took another sip of water when suddenly Luke’s ringtone broke the quiet. We both startled badly and laughed. Luke smiled at me and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He checked the caller identity when the smile dropped from his face.

“I got to take this,” he said quietly and I nodded. As he walked away from the booth, he picked up his phone and a dark look crossed his face. He hissed something I couldn’t hear into his phone and I frowned.

Something was  _ off  _ about Luke Castellan.

He returned a few minutes later and the rest of the date continued as normal. There was a somewhat tense air around Luke but after a while that faded away.

After we paid the bill, Luke drove us down to the beach. The breeze was soft and chilly. I shivered and removed my jacket from where it was around my waist and put it on.

We walked along the boardwalk until the boardwalk forged into the sand. Luke turned to me and smiled excitedly.

“Take off your shoes,” he said excitedly. I blink but comply. After a moment of thought, I take off my socks as well. Luke does the same.

“Come on.” He grabs my hand and pulls me along. 

We walk to a small shed sitting on the sand, some distance away from the water. Luke smiles as he pushes open the door. I eye it warily before following him inside. “We’re not going swimming, are we?”

He shakes his head and grabs 2 shovels. Luke hands one to me and I look at it in confusion. Not exactly what I was expecting for a date. We walk along further until we come to a beach house.

“Welcome to my house.” 

My eyes widen. “You live on the beach?” He nods. “That’s cool.”

I follow him as he opens the gate to the backyard. The sand slowly starts to disappear from underneath us as grass grows in its place. I wiggle my toes as sand clings to the inner webs of my skin.

A girl is waiting for us next to a tree. I recognize her from school. The second familiar face I’ve seen on our date. Her eyebrows go up as she spots me next to Luke.

Luke shifts from one foot to another. “Annabeth, meet my cousin Calypso. Callie, this is Annabeth.”

She nods at me. “Nice to meet you. Are you here to help us?”

I turn to look at Luke. He nods encouragingly. “I guess…”

“Alright. Follow me.” Luke and I follow her deeper into their backyard. She leads us to a patch of dirt where the moon shines on it brightly. She points up a few pots full of a silvery plant. “Moonlace,” she explains. “We’re planting Moonlace. It has loads of healing properties and tastes good in curry.”

I blink. “Ah.”

She hands Luke and I gloves and puts on a pair herself. We spend the next half hour moving the Moonlace from pots into the ground. After we finish she stands on her knees and smiles. “Thanks.”

I smile back at her genuineness and her fondness for this pretty flower. “You’re welcome.”

Luke grins at the two of us and looks up at the half moon. “Watch.”

I look up at the moon as well and observe the contrast between the white of the moon to the dark blue of the fleeting evening. 

I look down at the Moonlace and let out a breath. The silvery purple petals of the flower seem to catch the moonlight and hold on tight. It seemed like there was moonlight just under the skin of the petals. 

“Beautiful, right?” Calypso murmurs.

I nod. Yeah. Beautiful.

***BONUS scene***

Mother walked into the living room. “Annabeth?”

I paused the television. “Yeah?”

Mother sighed and sat down on the couch next to me. “I got your therapy treatment sorted out.”

I froze. “I don’t need therapy treatment.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder. I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t!” I insisted.

“If you’re sure Anna. But just go to the first appointment would you? Just to make sure.”

I was silent as I thought it over. I knew that I no longer needed the treatment. It would appease Mother’s worrying however…

“Fine,” I relented and Mother smiled. She pressed a kiss to my hair. “The doctor’s are just trying to help. So are we.”

She looked at me and I remembered how adamant she had been to bring me to Forks after the shooting. I told her I was fine and that I wanted to stay. I stayed for about a year before I came here. 

She turned to the television. “What are you watching?”

  
“Sherlock,” I informed her. 

Her eyes lit up. Of course they did. I remembered how whenever Mother, Dad and I watched mystery movies when I was younger, Mother would always yell at the detectives about all they were doing wrong.

“Which part are you on?”

“I’m in Season 2.” I clicked a button on the remote to check. “On episode three.”

“Mind if I join you?”

I smiled faintly. “As long as you promise not to yell at the fictional characters in the television Mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I did some research and apparently Ogygia is in Antarctica? So Hephaestus is in Ogygia. Hope y’all didn’t forget about Silena. She’s important. ;) So the time difference between Washington and Arizona is one hour so three AM for ANnabeth would be two AM for Silena. Still not a good time to call someone. I know that it seems like Annabeth and Leo bonded way too fast and i’m sorry :(( Some things just have to be done.  
> I’ve missed you all!! sorry for going on an unannounced sort of hiatus. It’s been fun being on hiatus though. Got a lot of R&R. :) I've also like, pulled this story out of the horridness it was spiraling into(i think) and like organized it a bit. Honestly, this story was like part of my anxiety with how it was practically going nowhere. But I've planned 11 more chapters! Still haven’t planned the ending but I’m getting there   
> also i’m in somewhat severe writer’s block for this story so sorry if this is absolute crap. :’(  
> Thoughts about Ela? Her name means ‘moonlight’ in my religion so I thought it was fitting. Well, not my religion exactly but… it’s difficult to explain. In the language that we do our prayers in and the language that my language spirals from, it means moonlight. Confusing, see? Pronounced ee-la
> 
> Reviews(as always) are cherished!

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are cherished! So leave comments!


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